Sep 8, 2009

New Wooly Rat

At last, there's an island that isn't Madagascar that's yielding a new species. Unfortunately, it's a rat. A giant, cat-sized, wooly rat.

Papua New Guinea's Mount Bosavi and its crater are home to all sorts of giant rats, which makes it a charming place in all sorts of ways. Bosavi, which hasn't ever seen much in terms of human visitation, promises to present all sorts of new and isolated species, including more giant rats, fish, bats, insects, and of course spiders.

Thanks for the link, Ida and Sherry.

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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2009

    Aaww, it's so cute! looks like a furry guineapig.


    and what kind of cats are we talking about here? teacup/dwarf/maldeformed cats which are 10 times as small as house cats? All of the cats I've seen are much bigger than that rat.

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2009

    It's adorable, what are you talking about?

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  3. Jessica OlinSeptember 10, 2009

    It just needs a good scritch behind its left ear.

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2009

    Don't forget the fanged frogs!

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2009

    Out of curiosity spurred by the first commenter, I found some articles on the internet that estimate the rat to weigh about 3.3 pounds, which is less than half the weight of a typical cat. of course, that doesn't change the fact that it's enormous for a rat.

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  6. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2009

    Oooh, it's an ROUS! :)

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=R.O.U.S.

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2009

    But we still do not know if it is fully grown yet.

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  8. BethSeptember 19, 2009

    Looks like an R.o.U.S. (Rodent of Unusual Size)!

    'Princess Bride' fans, you are welcome. ;)

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